There is an ancient and apocryphal Chinese curse that says something the likes of: “May you live in interesting times.” Not sure if it has any basis in fact, but that’s not really the point. The point is that interesting times come with interesting problems… we would, perhaps, prefer a life of sedentary ennui, but these goddamn interesting times keep getting in the way.

This month (and the month before – and probably the one coming up), are indeed interesting. Broken ribs, root canals, too much time spent in hospitals and at funerals, too little time in shiny, happy places… it adds up. There are times when it seems entirely likely that somewhere, someone must be sticking hat-pins into a wax doll that bears a pronounced resemblance to you. There’s no other way to explain it.

And yet, life goes on. And on.

There’s a lot yet to be said about the missing Malaysian Air flight, on so many levels. One side story to the tragedy is the publicity that has been given to the plasticized sludge bath that we are still referring to as “the ocean,” as if it’s some sort of mystery how all that synthetic offal got put there. Who knew that this would come out as a result of an airline disaster, this extensive coverage of the sorry state of the largest ecosystem on the planet? And yet, there it is, out there for the entire world to see. You did this, with your plastic water bottles, your styrofoam food containers, your addiction to cheap and easy. We all did this. So… now what?

And that is the question. When you have been clearly shown that your bed is on fire, how can you roll over and go back to sleep? How much is the future worth to you, whether you expect to be there to see it or not?

These are hard questions. It is late at night and it has been a very long day. And these are interesting times.